Catching Readers - Assessments

I wanted to write about one last chapter in this book:


{Well, that is unless I read something else that is really good!}

Chapter 10 is about assessments. When I brought this up with my little in-service group, there was some discussion about teacher observation versus testing data. Our school is going more and more toward testing data as the final authority - the teacher's thoughts/observations/anecdotal notes don't really mean much. 

Having said that, however, I feel like my thoughts, observations and anecdotal notes go a long way toward what should happen in my class - together with the testing data. In my guided reading group, I need to work with students, based on what I'm seeing throughout the week. And I need to move students around, based on that, too. 

Here are two quotes:

“assessments must be authentic, ongoing, and informative in order for teachers to effectively use it while instructing children.”

 “We must be intensely aware not only that they are struggling but also of what is contributing to their struggle.”

As to the first one - my school does running records on below level kids ever week - but I'm not given those results. Hmm, does that make sense? I didn't even think about it until I read this, but I think it's something I need to bring up and ask for. Why should I do this to my kids again, when the information is already there?

The 2nd quote - ouch - I'm working on this. I do at least weekly anecdotal notes on each of my kids. I've also started noting "what's next?" What do I need to work on with this student. I want to be more aware of what each of my students' struggles are, particularly my lower kids. Haha, that's one of my struggles!

This is a great book and an easy read. If you get it, you might want to make sure you have a highlighter with you as you read. 

Catching Readers

I was told by a knowledgeable student that I was supposed to wear my pjs inside out, flush two ice cubes down the toilet and sleep with spoons under my pillow to make a snow day happen. I did not do any of that - and I guess that's the reason we didn't have a snow day on Thursday. We have another chance on Monday - so maybe I need to get on the ball Sunday night. 

I mentioned in another post that I was leading a book study loosely based on this book:


{It's really just an excuse for me to make the time to read this book!} 

I was looking at Chapter 7 - I Thought I Knew How to Teach Reading, but Whoa! Whoa is right! Much of the discussion is for students that are in earlier grades, but it seems every year I have one or two {or, yikes! more!!} that are still struggling to read. Well, let me clarify - I always have students that are lower than we'd like on their DRA - but those 1 or 2 students are considerably below where they should be. 

"The best thing is to catch it (dependency on the teacher) and encourage self-monitoring from the very start" (page 123). Do you have students that don't even realize that they've made a mistake, particularly when it's one that doesn't make sense?? When the authors talked about self-monitoring, I realized this is something that many of my students don't do. So, here's something to work on for me {and my kiddos - even though they don't know it yet!}

When I got done with Chapter 7, I just couldn't stop - so I kept reading - Chapter 8 - Comprehension. 

"Comprehension strategies are not an end in themselves, but rather a means to understanding. Our classroom instruction must reflect this." - the authors are quoting Harvey and Goudvis. The authors also discuss the difference between spotlighting a strategy and heavy-handed teaching. 

Ack - I think I'm guilty of heavy-handed teaching. Our basal reader has a strategy for the week - and that's what I focus on. At one point in the chapter, the authors ask if the strategy is something you as a teacher use when you are reading. Well, this week our comprehension strategy was story structure. For me personally, I do sometimes make lists of characters and their relationships to each other if I'm getting confused. But what about beginning, middle, end? I guess, yes, I think about these things. I guess what was a light bulb moment for me was when the authors said, "The teacher treats the strategy as the end goal" {heavy handed} versus "Teacher gives time for students to talk about how the strategy helps them understand the story." {spotlighting}

Anyway, this has given me lots of food for thought. If you've read Catching Readers - what are your thoughts??